Change is difficult, but necessary

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the ‘Achieving Professional Excellence’ Conference, or APEX for short. If you have not heard of it before, it is a weekend long conference where students participate in business workshops, network with peers and recruiters, attend dinners, and listen to keynotes from very notable speakers. I highly recommend students to attend and industry professionals to be involved as a company rep – it is a great way to expand your network, learn new things, and inspire or be inspired to greatness.

This was my first time hearing C-Suite executives speak in person, and I learned a few key messages from them and the conference in general. Here is my quick summary.

1.      One common theme I heard from many executives was life-long learning. Theresa McLaughlin , CMO of TD, said to us, “companies of the future are looking for candidates who are life-long learners.” Having been in school for the past 16 years, I am eager to enter the workforce, but I realize the learning should not stop. Whether this is through pursuing more degrees, upgrading courses, attending workshops, trying different positions – learning needs to continue. We are at a time when we have the most resources and teachers available to us whenever we want. Let us use that to our advantage.

2.      Have the courage to change things. Whether you are changing the way a process is done at work, or changing your positions in the same company, change is difficult, but very necessary. Jesse Abrams , Marketing Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30, told us to be memorable to the point that organization’s will miss you and remember you for what you did when you leave – and that does not happen without changing the status quo.

3.      You have to create your own luck. Rudi Blatter , CEO of Lindt Canada, spoke to us about all the opportunities he created for himself from an early age starting with his jobs that helped him pay for university. He was not afraid of any challenge that came his way, and treated the challenges, or work relocations, or new positions as opportunities and leveraged them.

4.      Build a network and do not burn any bridges. Keep in touch with your contacts, old and new. The network should not just be a collection of business cards or former employees you have as connections on LinkedIn, but rather people you maintain a relationship with. I met some great people at the conference, and I will definitely keep in touch with them.

5.      In my organizational behaviour classes, I learned that you are born with your personality – it does not change over time. Rather what changes is how you react to situations based on what you learned from past experiences. Be your true authentic self, and make that work for you.

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